2015: YEAR OF DIVERSE READING

What is the 2015 Diverse Books Challenge?

For the next 9 months take the challenge of diversifying your literature in both subject matter and genre. Each month, choose 3 books from the selected genre of that month. Those books must meet the criteria of diverse literature. What is “diverse” literature? Diverse literature (in this case) is intersectional literature that includes the stories of writers of color, women, LGBTQIA content, and the stories of marginalized groups and identities. This type of writing is often overlooked, or not widely publicized, but it is definitely there. Who can participate? You. Anyone who reads books. Of any color, ethnicity, identity, or gender. Where can I participate? Ideally at your local public library. All you need is a library card, (bookstores ok too), and access to this blog, which will be updated regularly.

When? The duration of 2015 starting April 1, 2015 How do I participate:  Guidelines posted above! Choose any 3-5 books in the genre defined for the month. Make sure your books fall under at least one of the categories. Each genre is one month long only. Renew your books so you don’t get any late fees!!! And Don’t forget to SHARE your progress and book choices each month. Blog/post/tweet/snap/pin!

HASHTAGS: #2015DiverseBookChallenge  #1YearofDiverseBooks  #DiverseBooksChallenge

Why should I complete this challenge?

If you read books or have ever read a book, its likely that you’re well versed on the stories of straight, white, cisgendered (mostly male) authors and characters. It’s time to diversify our literature. I challenge myself and others too, to spend 2015 reading intersectional stories, the voices of the marginalized groups, diverse literature: our stories, and the stories of others. Reading is powerful. Representation in literature is important.

High School Reading List

Back in May, the #weneeddiversebooks campaign lit a fire to fulfill the desperate need for diverse books in children’s literature. Behind the Book has always championed efforts to find diverse authors and protagonists that will appeal to students since we serve communities of color. For your enjoyment (and enrichment), we’ve created an epic list of diverse books to reflect the diversity in our city; here’s our list for high school students.

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Drown by Junot Diaz

Kindred by Octavia E. Butler

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

The Chaos by Nalo Hopkinson

Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor

The Living by Matt De La Peña, a Behind the Book author

The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin

The Pearl that Broke Its Shell: a Novel by Nadia Hashimi

Mare’s War by Tanita S. Davis

A Teaspoon of Earth and Sea by Dina Nayeri

The Book of Unknown Americans: a Novel by Cristina Henríquez

A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah

Silver People: Voices from the Panama Canal by Margarita Engle

Naughts & Crosses by Malorie Blackman

The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi

For descriptions, click the read more!

(Click the following links to be directed to the Kindergarten, (early) Elementary and Middle School lists)

My Basmati Bat Mitzvah Paula J. Freedman

Last year, we released an infographic and study on the diversity gap in the Academy Awards. The study looked at racial and gender diversity over 85 years of Oscars, through 2012. Here’s the updated study, which includes the 2013, 2014, and 2015 winnersYou may notice it looks…not very different from the old infographic. Three big stats that we called out then are still true:

Only one woman of color (1%) has ever won the Academy Award for Best Actress

Only seven men of color (8%) have ever won the Academy Award for Best Actor

Only one woman (1%) has ever won the Academy Award for Best Director

That’s because in the last three years, no person of color has won in the Best Leading Actor or Best Leading Actress category. Including last night’s win for Alejandro González Iñárritu, three people of color have won in the Best Director category, all male. 2014 saw a step forward with three Oscar wins for Twelve Years a Slave, but just a year later all 20 acting nominations once again went to white actors. No women were nominated in the directing, writing, or cinematography categories in 2015 either.

It’s no surprise that there’s no change among the winners when there’s no change among the voters. According to a recent LA Times article, the racial makeup of the Academy has barely budged in the last few years, even with a commitment to diversify from the Academy’s first black woman president.

We often get so caught up in the glamour of the Oscars that it’s hard to remember that the winners are not necessarily the best movies but rather the movies that resonate most with the (mostly male, white, and older) Academy voters. Roxane Gay reminds us of this:

It is frustrating, particularly in looking at the Best Picture nominees, to see what kind of story is resonating with Academy voters. With the exception of Selma, these are movies about white men coming of age, coping with old age, coping with genius, coping with a strong mind but frail body, coping with the burdens of patriotism and duty, and on and on.

These stories deserve to be told but they are not the only stories that deserve to be told. This is what we continually lose sight of. And in Selma, which is an outstanding movie, we see, yet again, the kind of story Academy voters are comfortable with when it comes to people of color–always about the history, about the struggle. Where is the Birdman for an aging Asian actress? Where is Girlhood, ambitiously chronicled over a number of years? Where is the twee movie shot in highly saturated color about a woman working as a hotel concierge? These stories exist and if they don’t they have the potential to exist, if there were more opportunities available.

This echoes a comment from Gina Prince-Blythewood, writer/director of the 2014 film Beyond the Lights:

The numbers do not surprise me because very few Academy Award level films with non-white leads are being greenlit. Until this changes, the abysmal numbers will not change.

So, what would it take to see these stories told and awarded?

Looking to diversify your YA reading? I put together a list of 30 titles that are coming out or just recently released that feature diverse characters, authors, and story lines, including fiction and non-fiction. 

A preview of LGBTQ YA Fiction coming out in 2015.

We’re seeing more trans, intersex, and genderqueer characters, but I would still like to discover more genre fiction with LGBTQ characters. 

I thought: What if I only read stories by a certain type of author?

Once more, your friendly neighborhood Disability in Kidlit is seeking disabled volunteers savvy about disability representation.

For our upcoming “Autism on the Page” event:

autistic people of color able to write an article about autistic representation on a very tight deadline, ie. ASAP, before April. We’d particularly love an article about how autistic characters of color are often either ignored, or not seen from an intersectional approach; other topics are entirely possible too, however.

autistic people familiar with autism representation in middle grade and young adult literature able to write an article on the same tight deadline. We have a few very specific topics in mind.

For an upcoming mental illness-centric project:

a person of color with mental illness to talk about the demonization of mental illness in fiction from several angles, including the dangerous real-life effects of that kind of representation. We would particularly love to hear from a Black person on this matter. This can take the form of an article or a roundtable-style discussion with others. We’re looking at a deadline of mid-late April.

For reviews and help with our upcoming recommendation list for librarians, we’re seeking people with the following conditions: 

albinism

amputation (congenital or acquired, but esp. acquired)

acquired blindness

acquired paraplegia

schizophrenia

We would love to hear from people by April or May, but as this is not for a specific project, afterward is possible as well.

If you’re interested in participating in any of these projects, please email us at [email protected] for questions or details.

As always, we’re happy to see contributors with any kind of disability at any point down the line. We’re open to both reviews (we’ll attempt to provide the book) and articles (particularly articles exploring disability tropes). Don’t hesitate to contact us if you dig the site even if you don’t fit the above criteria. They’re simply what we’re currently in need of for these particular projects.

A YEAR OF DIVERSE READING

What is the 2015 Diverse Books Challenge? For the next 9 months take the challenge of diversifying your literature in both subject matter and genre. Each month, choose 3 books from the selected genre of that month. Those books must meet the criteria of diverse literature. What is “diverse” literature? Diverse literature (in this case) is intersectional literature that includes the stories of writers of color, women, LGBTQIA content, and the stories of marginalized groups and identities. This type of writing is often overlooked, or not widely publicized, but it is definitely there. Who can participate? You. Anyone who reads books. Of any color, ethnicity, identity, or gender. Where can I participate? Ideally at your local public library. All you need is a library card, (bookstores ok too), and access to this blog, which will be updated regularly. 

When? The duration of 2015 starting April 1, 2015 How do I participate:  Guidelines posted above! Choose any 3-5 books in the genre defined for the month. Make sure your books fall under at least one of the categories. Each genre is one month long only. Renew your books so you don’t get any late fees!!! And Don’t forget to SHARE your progress and book choices each month. Blog/post/tweet/snap/pin!

HASHTAGS: #2015DiverseBookChallenge  #1YearofDiverseBooks  #DiverseBooksChallenge

Why should I complete this challenge?

If you read books or have ever read a book, its likely that you’re well versed on the stories of straight, white, cisgendered (mostly male) authors and characters. 

Why I’m doing this challenge: As a queer woman of color, there was a period of time when I gave up on some of my favorite genres of fiction (YA, Sci-Fi, Dystopian, Thrillers) because of the severe lack of diversity I was coming across. With the help of many writers, and the We Need Diverse Books campaign, I feel hopeful rediscovering the joys of these genres by challenging myself to read more writers of color, more stories of queer and trans characters. These stories are out there, and we should ALL be making an effort to support them. It’s time to diversify our literature. I challenge myself and others too, to spend 2015 reading intersectional stories, the voices of the marginalized groups, diverse literature: our stories, and the stories of others. Reading is powerful. Representation in literature is important.